From the fog-draped streets of Athlone, Ireland, to the grandest concert halls and opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic, the story of John McCormack reads like something conjured from the most ambitious works of fiction. Yet every word is true. Born into modest circumstances in 1884, this legendary Irish tenor defied every expectation, overcame every obstacle, and climbed to the very summit of the musical world through nothing but the extraordinary power of a voice that could reduce ...

An account of the Swiss soldiers of fortune who plied their trade in the foreign regiments of European militaries and even the American Civil War.The white mercenaries who attracted the world's attention in the Congo during the early 1960s were never more than a few hundred in number. In contrast, no fewer than a million Swiss troops served as mercenaries in the armies of Europe during the preceding 500 years. Swiss mercenaries form a significant strand in the rope...

THE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME THRILLER FROM THE MILLION-COPY, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN'[Crime fiction's] biggest contemporary star' GUARDIAN'One of the finest writers of contemporary crime fiction' DAILY MAIL--------------------------...

This Revised publication in the Straightforward Guides Series, The Straightforward Business Plan, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the ongoing planning and development of a business including internet-based businesses. The book covers all areas of business planning. As the economic climate gets tougher then the importance of creating a successful and effective business plan is that much greater. The book will prove invaluable to all those who are involved in setting up a business...

This Revised publication in the Straightforward Guides Series, The Straightforward Business Plan, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the ongoing planning and development of a business including internet-based businesses. The book covers all aspects of business planning. As the economic climate gets tougher then the importance of creating a successful and effective business plan is that much greater. The book will prove invaluable to all those who are involved in setting up a busine...

The Straightforward Business Plan, Revised Edition , is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the formation of a viable business plan and also to the ongoing development of a company. The book has been updated taking into account the current difficult business climate and incorporates current business planning models. It will prove invaluable to all those who are either involved in business and wish to adopt a more structured approach to planning the future or to those new to business wh...

'To say Tana French is one of the great thriller writers is really too limiting. Rather she's simply this: a truly great writer' GILLIAN FLYNN'[Crime fiction's] biggest contemporary star' GUARDIAN'One of the finest writers of contemporary crime fiction' DAILY MAIL-------------------------------------------------------She is me. And I am her.Still traumatised by her brush wit...

**A New York Times bestseller and a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, The New York Times Book Review, Amazon, The Boston Globe, LitHub, Vulture, Slate, Elle, Vox, and Electric Literature“Tana French’s best and most intricately nuanced novel yet.” —The New York TimesAn “extraordinary” (Stephen King) and “mesmerizing” (LA Times) standalone novel from the master of crime and suspense and author of the forthcoming novel The Hunt...

This invaluable glossary of terms can be used alongside Doug's brilliant new book, How to Start a Creative Business, a must-have for any creative-type wanting to start their own venture. This glossary of terms provides you with the basic tools for starting a sustainable, viable, creative business. It shows you that the 'business terms' that you need to know for your creative business do not have to be scary or confusing, they are all easy to understand and will be invaluable for s...

The horrific series of conflicts known as the Thirty Years War (1618-48) tore the heart out of Europe, killing perhaps a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to whole areas of Central Europe to such a degree that many towns and regions never recovered. All the major European powers apart from Russia were heavily involved and, while each country started out with rational war aims, the fighting rapidly spiralled out of control, with great battles giving way to marauding bands of starving ...

**An "engaging, enthusiastic, sympathetic, funny" journey through French history from the New York Times–bestselling author of Absolute Monarchs ( The Wall Street Journal).Beginning with Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in the first century BC, this study of French history comprises a cast of legendary characters―Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, and Marie Antoinette, to name a few―as John Julius Norwich chronicles France's often vio...

Following on from his epic ‘1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow’, bestselling author Adam Zamoyski has written the dramatic story of the Congress of Vienna.In the wake of his disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon's imperious grip on Europe began to weaken, raising the question of how the Continent was to be reconstructed after his defeat. There were many who dreamed of a peace to end all wars, in which the interests of peoples as well as those of rulers would be taken in...